>> shawn smoot. >> what did you learn about shawn smoot? out that he ran an allstate office there in west knoxville. >> married, children? >> married, was no longer married at that particular time. >> reporter: amy denlinger is a former employee of shawn's. >> what were your impressions of, of shawn? >> seemed like a nice enough person, outgoing, typical sales, easy to get along with. >> reporter: shawn smoot, the name rang a bell with brooke's family and friends. not long after brooke's divorce, shawn had hired brooke as an assistant in the insurance office. >> i remember the day that she had the interview. we had lunch right before, and she was so excited, you know? >> it was a real job. and i said, there's gonna be so much potential for you to move up in this company, you know. i was really proud of her. >> did you feel like this was kind of the fresh start brooke needed? >> yeah, we did. we thought -- we -- we all thought it was gonna be a good thing for her. >> did she seem happy? >> oh yeah, she loved it. i think there was a couple ot